New MESA BOOGIE release - MESA/Boogie Bass 800D - 800W Bass Amp Head

[Al Kraft]

This was really bad timing, but order has been placed.

Lord, help me.

Of all the things in life that you can be in trouble for, this one is worth it!

 

[gustobassman]

Of all the things in life that you can be in trouble for, this one is worth it!

Well yeah, everyone knows Talkbass is the place to go for helpful money-saving tips and other concise ways to be frugal.

Said no one.... ever...

 

[Kijuer]

I love this already.

 

[cemunk]

This was really bad timing, but order has been placed.

Lord, help me.

It's only money

 

[BioDriver]

Were your ears burning???

Ears, heart, and wallet!

 

[pisces_bass]

This one looks like the best fit out of the Subway line for my music. What a cool set of features. Would love to a/b against my current setup.

 

[mrwood4]

lol...ordered...

 

[SunByrne]

Hah. Saw a Sweetwater ad on Facebook plugging this amp. Figured there'd be a TB thread with @agedhorse giving us the lowdown and sure enough...

Super interesting. I don't own a TT-800 but I'm someone who always likes to have options and the TT-800 gives that, so I've always figured I'd eventually just break down and get one. Might still but I don't know, this sure seems sweet, and the price tag is right, too. Gotta pay off the new Spector first, and then picking up an Anagram, but this might just be the next thing in the queue. I have to say knowing that this is @agedhorse's baby based on input from TB definitely adds to the appeal...

 

[Al Kraft]

Looks like a perfect amp for me! As much as I love my D800+, this has a simplicity to it that I prefer (I'm not an eq knob twirler), and the preamp looks promising with the tube stage.

To me this head has the most tube-like sound and feel of all the Subway heads. While the front panel controls are very simple and straightforward there is lot more voicing versatility there than you might initially expect.

The D-800+ is a little more solid state sounding and feeling compared to the Bass 800D. The big difference is in overall voicing in the preamp with a noticeable increase in depth and openness of notes as opposed to them being more tightly focussed and sharply defined. The power amp damping factor also contributes to that difference in the note sound and feel. It's a very fun head to play, and if you didn't see the head before playing it you would expect to find something much larger sitting on your cab(s).

In terms of controls, for me the mid EQ almost acts like a voicing control. It is something I discovered early in playing the head,. The mid EQ kind of repositions the tone stack a bit to allow you to vary where the tonal emphasis is centered. The deep and bright switches help reposition emphasis in the overall EQ and work seamlessly with the variable HPF and EQ controls to dial in the sound you're looking for. While my description was bit awkward, it is actually a very intuitive amp and control set.

And despite this head being able to come at you like a freight train, if that's what you want, you can make remarkably subtle changes that polish up rather than radically change a voicing. Like a hot rod with almost too much horsepower (assuming there is such a thing as too much) you can still drive it in a school zone or a parking lot and look as well-behaved and mild mannered as you like.

One of the immediately noticeable features of the design regardless of playing volume is how meaty and full the notes are in terms of their presence in the room and harmonics. While the damping factor and behaviors are more like a tube amp (the Bass 400/400+) it is not inarticulate in terms of note to note presentation even in faster passages. It also holds together very nicely as you increase playing volume, but you don't need to be playing loud to appreciate the quality of the sound.

It's an hard amp to not like.

 

[Al Kraft]

I love this already.

You'll love it even more when you play it!

 

[ravlin]

Wish I had known this was on the horizon, just bought an 800+ but absolutely would have gone with the Bass 800D... Next year.

 

[cookbasser]

OK, I guess that you all have figured out what I have been working on the past while...

Frankly, this project started out from a seemingly endless stream of TalkBass suggestions and requests for a more dedicated single channel, Bass 400+ inspired version of the TT-800's Boogie channel. The first player to (very strongly I might add) suggest this was Tom Bowlus (no big surprise given his fondness for the Bass 400+) but he was far from alone.

I actually asked for input from the TB community regarding a few "what if" scenarios, including such topics as importance of a graphic eq was, player preferences in trade-offs of size and weight versus feature set (our European members were understandably the most concerned about this, but not by as much as I expected), and the basic feature set itself.

The results of this TB community input were extremely helpful in shaping this amp as the most player influence designed amp in the Subway line, and some of you may see a piece of yourself in this amp. Even our old friend Chef's "bright switch" made it into the amp, he was such a champion of this feature! Because of all this input, it turned into a really fun project, and not just challenging.

There are some Beta testers out there, Tom has one and hopefully he will be able to provide his input regarding how this amp plays with different cabinets (he has the widest variety of speakers in his collection of anybody that I know). Also, Al Kraft (@Al Kraft) and Gus Kendrick (@gustobassman) are beta test players as well as helped write and edit the owner's manual for the amp. Both Al and Gus are really solid, experienced players and have extensive experience with the new amp, they will also be able to answer questions from a player perspective (remember, I'm just a mediocre keyboard player, not a bass player). Gus even sneaked his out on tour, so hopefully he can find some videos or audio clips that are real world gig based rather that the typical marketing/influencer wank-fest videos that tend to appear with every new product release.

Thank you for keeping-on, keeping on.

So, I guess no D-350/ 28C?

Oops did I give myself away? Hehe

I think there's exactly a market of [me] that has sought that.

Looks like yet another big winner tho, so congrats and thanks for all you do.

 

[agedhorse]

Hah. Saw a Sweetwater ad on Facebook plugging this amp. Figured there'd be a TB thread with @agedhorse giving us the lowdown and sure enough...

Super interesting. I don't own a TT-800 but I'm someone who always likes to have options and the TT-800 gives that, so I've always figured I'd eventually just break down and get one. Might still but I don't know, this sure seems sweet, and the price tag is right, too. Gotta pay off the new Spector first, and then picking up an Anagram, but this might just be the next thing in the queue. I have to say knowing that this is @agedhorse's baby based on input from TB definitely adds to the appeal...

It's been tested extensively with the Anagram, both without an amp model directly into the front and with amp models into the effects return.

Wish I had known this was on the horizon, just bought an 800+ but absolutely would have gone with the Bass 800D... Next year.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the D-800+, and for some players they will prefer it to the new amp. It's just a different flavor.

 

[bdplaid]

No need for a full amp these days, but this got my attention. Maybe i need it as a preamp

Don't discount that. I've done it with my Plus snd its great.

 

[DenisLM]

Oh boy. I tried to resist, but the temptation is too strong...
Ordered. Looks like Thursday will be here. Right in time for the Saturday gig!

if anyone in PNW wants a WD800 for a nice price, hit me up...

 

[Al Kraft]

Wish I had known this was on the horizon, just bought an 800+ but absolutely would have gone with the Bass 800D... Next year.

Congratulations, you have a outstanding new amp and you should enjoy every minute of playing it. The Bass 800D is a little different vibe, not better or worse.

Take a listen and play one if you get a chance. Not every 800+ player will be drawn to this head, but if you're looking for some variety, this could be just the ticket to treat yourself next time around.

I have a feeling that neither head will be out of production any time soon.

 

[ravlin]

It's been tested extensively with the Anagram, both without an amp model directly into the front and with amp models into the effects return.


There's absolutely nothing wrong with the D-800+, and for some players they will prefer it to the new amp. It's just a different flavor.

Don't get me wrong, I love the 800+, there is nothing wrong with it at all! I specifically picked that one because it seemed like the easiest head to dial in a mildly overdriven tone while also being fairly simple, single channel configuration. I also valued the variable HPF and parametric mids regardless of whether I use them. I only meant to say that if this new one had been on my radar it would have tipped the scales for me given the flavor I'm after.

 

[warptheory]

I know it doesn't really matter, but is this a Mesa Subway amp or a Mesa/Boogie amp. It doesn't say Subway anywhere on the head itself, but does refer to Subway in the manual. Mostly curious if this is the start of a new line of amps.

Still not listed on the Mesa site, but is on the Gibson site, I suppose it's just a matter of time until Marketing wakes up and gets the memo:

MESA/Boogie®

MESA/Boogie is a leading innovator of guitar amplification technology whose product line includes the Mark V®, Dual and Triple Rectifier®, Lone Star®, TransAtlantic®, Mini Rectifier®, and most recently the new Mark Five: 25™, CabClone™, King Snake™, Recto®-Verb™ 25, Bass Prodigy™ Four:88, Bass...

legacy.mesaboogie.com

 

[ravlin]

Congratulations, you have a outstanding new amp and you should enjoy every minute of playing it. The Bass 800D is a little different vibe, not better or worse.

Take a listen and play one if you get a chance. Not every 800+ player will be drawn to this head, but if you're looking for some variety, this could be just the ticket to treat yourself next time around.

I have a feeling that neither head will be out of production any time soon.

Already enjoying the heck out of it, I think I came off the wrong way in my initial post. I love my tone with the 800+ because I can get the flavor I'm after, but I think the new Bass 800D is all about that specific flavor. The 800D will be on my 2026 wish list for sure and they'll both get plenty of use. I'm all in on Mesa/Andy's stuff going forward.

 

[agedhorse]

I know it doesn't really matter, but is this a Mesa Subway amp or a Mesa/Boogie amp. It doesn't say Subway anywhere on the head itself, but does refer to Subway in the manual. Mostly curious if this is the start of a new line of amps.

Still not listed on the Mesa site, but is on the Gibson site, I suppose it's just a matter of time until Marketing wakes up and gets the memo:

MESA/Boogie®

MESA/Boogie is a leading innovator of guitar amplification technology whose product line includes the Mark V®, Dual and Triple Rectifier®, Lone Star®, TransAtlantic®, Mini Rectifier®, and most recently the new Mark Five: 25™, CabClone™, King Snake™, Recto®-Verb™ 25, Bass Prodigy™ Four:88, Bass...

legacy.mesaboogie.com

It's absolutely a member of the Subway family, (the internal model name is Subway BD-800, continuing the Subway naming convention). The Subway reference is located on the back and in the manual. The BASS 800D name on the front is styled after the original and classic Bass 400 logo.

I agree, this can be a bit confusing, but graphics won out here, and I actually think it looks more appropriate.